As a side note, I must say that during my pre-law school vacation that I went on with my mom a few weeks before law school started, I bought the most perfect shoes for graduation. (Check out my post from Aug 2015 called Blessed Beyond Belief for vacation details). As we were sitting in our hotel room, I was looking at fabulous shoes online. I came across the most perfect pair of Manolo Blahnik’s. For those Sex and the City fans, think the Mary Jane patent leather ones that Carrie found at Vogue! Yep, those are the ones. I bought them online at a major discount. (They came from Neiman Marcus). When I saw them, I knew they would be the shoes that I graduated from law school in and they were! They hurt like hell though but looked amazing and when the time came to walk across the stage, I didn’t feel anything but my sacrifices paying off.
Anyway, the night before the big day, I couldn’t sleep. Nerves, fear, excitement were keeping my awake. I had to get up at three in the morning to take care of my pups and get all dressed so that I could leave by six. I ended up only getting about 2-3 hours of sleep. When I woke up, I was tired but the excitement of the day took over.
My mom and I left the house at six and during the whole drive to the law school, I couldn’t help but feel the spirit of sadness that bounced in with the warm sun as it was coming up to bless the day. The best, worst, happiest, and hardest times of my life has been spent in law school and it was all going to be over that day. My friends, my favorite professor, all those endless nights of crying into my law books, my Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter which I founded and served as president would soon be a thing of the past. Gosh, I loved law school. It’s heart-breaking even now to think that it’s all over with.
When we got to the dome on the campus of my school, I saw the happy faces of a few friends standing in the parking lot. I got out to talk to them and they were all feeling different things. Some wanted to go home, some were excited beyond belief, and some were just as sad as I was to be leaving. I was a student attorney with the Domestic Violence and Family Law clinical program at my law school earlier in the year so I was called to take photos with the other student attorney’s. After that, I had a few hours to hang out with my friends for the last time. We took selfies and talked of our disbelief that it was all over. Such sweet conversations!
After a while, it was time to line up to take the biggest walk of our lives. My criminal law professor walked back and forth shouting for us to get in line and calling out names and numbers of the graduates. It all added to the excitement of the day. We were lined up and thankfully we would be walking out two-by-two. We were shuffled to the opening of the center of them dome and as other classmates went out before me, the butterflies began to swarm in my stomach. Finally, it was upon me. I told my walking partner: “I’m so nervous” and we stepped out into the dome. I immediately looked up and felt all the eyes on us. It was intimidating. My partner walked so fast that I struggled to keep up in my fabulous shoes that were killing me. As I got to my seat, I waived at my mom and dad. They were so proud.
After all of the graduates took their place, we all sat down and the ceremony began. I was sitting in the front row and staring at all the professors on the stage. As fate would have it, I was sitting directly in front of a professor who became like my dad during law school. I lovingly called him my “law school dad” and that is just what he was. I went to him for everything. Anytime someone was mean to me, for advice, for letters of recommendation, or just to chat, he was there for me. During the ceremony, I felt so nervous and I kept looking at him. He would look down at me and his warm smile reassured me. Thank God for him! (To you, if you ever read this, THANK YOU for everything you have done for me. Your love and kindness will follow me in everything I do and I will never forget what you have done for me. You believed in me when so many others didn’t. You gave me wings to fly and I could never repay you. I’ll be missing you “law school dad” Love you so!).
Anyway, after the speakers finished up, it was time to hand out our degrees. Since I was in the first row, I was one of the first to go up on stage. I got up and walked to the line and one-by-one, my classmates got their degrees. When it was finally my time to climb the stairs to go up on stage, I felt nervous. Then, I heard my name. I climbed up the stairs, handed my hood to my “law school dad” and he placed it over me. I then walked over to the chancellor of my law school who handed me my degree. It was in a scroll case and it was mine! It was finally mine! I took pictures with the chancellor and individual pictures and walked to my seat. When I sat down, it’s like I was in a state of shock. I sat there for what seemed like hours, just watching my classmates happily get their degrees while I tightly held on to mine.
After all the degrees were handed out, we listened to our chancellor address us. We took our oath as J.D’s and he said: “I confer upon you the degree of Juris Doctor”. At that moment, my heart sank. I was Juris Doctor! OMG, OMG, OMG! Even now, two weeks later, I’m still in shock. I went back before starting this post and went through so many of my earlier posts. It’s amazing how my journey unfolded. The best advice that I could give anyone is to find their divine path and follow it because it’s an amazing, beautiful journey. So amazing, that I am so sad it’s over but so filled with gratitude that I got this chance.
After the ceremony ended, I met my family and we went to the law school for the last time for a reception. There, I talked with my professors and friends. I introduced my mom and dad to my “law school dad” and his sweet wife. I gave him a thank you gift and hugged his neck. After we had refreshments, I showed my family around the law school and walked through the halls. As we walked, I remembered all the times, I studied here, all the growing I did here, all my friends, everything. The ghost of my happiness was running free in the halls of my school. Ahhhh, such good times. I will miss it so! However, a new adventure is afoot.
As my long time readers will know, I was accepted into an LL.M program beginning in August. Soooooo, law school isn't quite finished for me just yet. I will be moving across the country in August to get started on my new adventure. In the meantime, I’ll be unavailable. Why you might ask. Well, I’m taking the bar exam! My exam is in the end of July so I’ll be studying until then. I already started bar prep and it’s been intense. I’ve been studying for 15-18 hours per day and it’s only going to get more intense. In order for me to adequately prepare for the exam, I’ll be taking a break from the blog until after the Bar. Look for a new post at the end of July or first week in August when I will resume my regular posting. I’ll definitely be chronicling my moving story, new life, and new school adventures.
I want to thank you all for the love and kind words that you have sent me over the last three years! Thank you for reading along with me and following my journey. Your support has meant everything to me. I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, fun, and magical summer! Don’t touch the wildlife during your summer travels! Please pray for me and my success on the Bar! I’ll talk to you all at the end of the summer! So much love and light to all of you!
XOXO
Stay Fabulous,
LawGirl.